Twilight Friday
by HauntedAngel
Summary: “Kara’s in trouble, man. She took on a really big boost, and she messed it up." Kai Hiwatari is in a race against time: he's got seven days to steal thirty cars and exchange them for his little sister's life. It's time to dig up the past. KaiOC
1. Little Sister

I know, I know, this is terrible. I shouldn't be posting another fic when I have two others to complete and another to write the epilogue for. But this plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone after I watched the movie Gone In 60 Seconds, so I thought I'd write one last final beyblade fic, since after this my attention will remain on Harry Potter and Naruto. It won't be as long as Eye of the Storm, in fact, it shouldn't be longer than twelve or so chapters.

Anyway, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Cascading Iris and fairysky, for being such great friends and fans of EotS, and also to Truble for helping me with the research.

Disclaimer: Whee! Kai! Miiiiine! ...Eh? No, no, I take it back, you can have him... -is led away in a straightjacket- Waaaah! Someone help meeeeee!

ENJOY GUYS! **  
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**Twilight Friday**

**Chapter One: Little Sister**

"Move it, Mike!"

"I'm coming—fuck!"

There was a smash, followed by the sound of shattered glass hitting the concrete floor. Kara Hiwatari winced but never stopped moving; swiping several bits and bobs off the table and into her bag. The never-ending sound of police sirens outside, growing louder and louder as they closed in, spurred her to move even faster.

Her companion, Mike Clayton, was right on her heels, and the pair made their way between the multitude of cars parked in the warehouse. Cursing her luck, the seventeen year old ducked through a small hole in the wall, kicking away the metal sheet on the other side. Mike staggered after her, landing on all fours as he over balanced. His hand tore against the rough ground, causing droplets of blood to stain the grey concrete.

"Shit!" Mike hissed, causing Kara to whirl around.

"Wha—Mike, you idiot, get up!" she snapped, anxiety and fear getting to her. She hauled the brunette to his feet, dragging him after her as they took down the alleyway.

"Kara," Mike muttered hoarsely once they had put a fair amount of distance between them and the warehouse. They were lucky Kara had such good knowledge of the back streets of Miami. "Kara, we're in deep shit, aren't we?"

"You don't say. We just lost twenty fucking cars!" she gritted out, annoyed. "I…we're going to have to go tell Dad."

"What!" Mike's dull brown eyes widened, "Are you fucking insane? He'll kill us!"

"He won't kill us, I'm his only bloody daughter for God's sake." Kara sighed, taking Mike's torn hand and wrapping a handkerchief around it.

"Are you delusional, Kara?" Mike snapped, "Your Grandfather is an animal! He's crazy! And you know the lengths your Dad goes to get your Grandfather's biddings done. If he ordered us killed, d'you think the wanker would hesitate?"

Kara lowered her auburn eyes, gazing at the ground. Her short blue hair fell over her eyes, shadowing the unshed tears in her eyes. She was only seventeen, living with two men that hated her and her mother and older brothers being all the way in London, leaving her to fend for herself.

Not to mention that disaster that had occurred five years ago with her mates. It was the reason she was living her instead of with her mother and brothers in London.

"That's besides the point!" she eventually replied, "I live with them, d'you think they won't notice the job isn't done? Not to mention they have insiders on the police force, I'll think they'll notice when twenty cars, coincidently on the list, happened to have just been impounded!"

"So what do we do? Run?"

"Take two steps and you'll have a bullet in your back." came an ice cold voice that chilled the two friends to their very bones. They both recognised it instantly, and slowly turned to around to face the tall, aristocratic man wrapped in leather and expensive cloth, face hidden in the depths of his hood, with the barrel of a handgun pointing straight at them.

"Dear oh me, Kara. I was under the impression you could actually do this job."

Kara's face had paled to the point her skin seemed completely white. Her auburn eyes were wide with terror.

"No, wait—don't do _anything._" The words came tumbling past her lips in a hurried, unorganised mess, "I can—I will fix it—I can steal them again…please, just don't—"

"Shoot your best friend?" he suggested lazily, the barrel fixating on Mike only. He winced, swallowing hard. His life was flashing before his eyes. "Tut, tut, Kara. You know that I could. You've angered your Grandfather very much…hence he _forgot _to warn you about the raid."

For the first time since the cold man had arrived, anger flashed in Kara's auburn eyes, causing them to darken and redden. "Bullshit. You know can I steal them again. What's the big deal, _Dad?_" she growled.

"In a week? You've already caught the attention of the cops, you think they won't notice if more cars went missing? Grow a brain, Kara."

The anger never left the seventeen year old, and she stared at her father in anger and hatred with just a hint of terror. Mr Hiwatari smirked, and a faint click filled the air as the safety catch of the gun was flipped.

"_Dad—wait!" _Kara immediately yelled, but it was too late.

A loud crack sliced through the air as a bullet, travelling far faster than a human could react, shot out of the barrel and collided with muscle, skin and bone. A strangled cry followed suite, and then a thump as a lifeless body hit the ground.

Kara stared at her best of friend with something akin to shock. She couldn't move, her body felt paralysed. She had seen a dead body before, even one of a close friend, but as she stared at the blood and gore and her best friend's head blown to pieces, and the handkerchief still wrapped around his hand, now stained scarlet, she felt the sudden urge to throw up.

Which was exactly what she did.

"Oh dear," Mr Hiwatari frowned, "What a mess. The cops are going to have so much fun figuring this one out." he turned to his only daughter who was still throwing up behind a dustbin. "Now…what to do what you, hmm?"

Kara whirled around, and found herself once again looking down the barrel of his gun.

"Dad…" she muttered hoarsely.

Click. The safety catch was once again disabled.

"_DAD! NO!"_

---------------_  
_

Kai Hiwatari was viewed as a simple man. He knew his likes, his dislikes. He avoided anything that would cause an indefinite amount of trouble, and enjoyed every pleasure he could find.

Of course, what most people didn't know was his past, his teenage life that wasn't spent at tea parties and socialising with other rich boys his age, but frolicking around on the back streets of London, gaining street cred and doing jobs. Jobs that consisted of stealing some the flashiest, expensive cars, or even some of the old classics that were hard to find.

Not that anyone knew this. After an incident five years ago, involving his friends and little sister, he had left behind that life and attended University, before starting work at a top-notch bank.

A.k.a, respectable Kai Hiwatari, who always on time, always polite and always did a full days work before leaving.

So when he received a phone call that early afternoon at his bank, while he was on his lunch break, he figured it was just someone panicking about their money. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't.

"Zeus, we've got a major problem." Came a cold, hard voice from the other end. It took Kai's brain almost a full second to process all the factors: his street name, Zeus, which hadn't been uttered in years, and the voice: Brooklyn Kingston, the man who worked for his Grandfather but doubled as his spy, keeping a constant eye on his little sister.

Kai stood up, to the surprise of his co-workers, and walked into the empty staff room. "Brooklyn. What's happening?" he demanded.

"Kara's in big shit, man. She took on a boost, a really big boost, and she fucked it up. Mike's dead. You seriously need to get over here."

Kai took in this information far faster than he had taken in Brooklyn's voice. His fellow bankers and their costumers were extremely surprised to hear Kai's voice holler from the staff room:

"SHE DID WHAT!"

Finally simple, mysterious Kai Hiwatari was doing something interesting. Within seconds he was storming from the staff room, pulling on his leather jacket and yelling into his phone. He left the bank, leaving startled and confused bankers in his wake.

"What the fuck did she do this time? She swore to me she gave up!" he snapped, pulling out his car keys and unlocking the silver Mercedes-Benz SLK 350. He got in, switching it on and pulling out of the parking space one handed. He knew it was now illegal to talk on the phone and drive, but he had done a lot worse before and honestly didn't care.

"She did, Zeus. She gave up for three years. Then your old man roped her into some shit and she had to play along. He even roped in Mike. I didn't tell you since she got through all right, and everything she's done, she did it as safely as possible. But she fucked up bad in this one."

Kai took a deep breath, trying to control his anger, and his fear for his little sister's life.

"What was the boost?" he finally asked.

"Thirty cars. Classics and the flashy pieces of shit. Well, actually, they're not pieces of shit, some of them are half way decent, but you know…"

"Brooklyn!" Kai snapped, sensing the redhead was starting to get off topic.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Anyway, so Voltaire tells her, thirty cars, by Friday 31st July. That's exactly a week from now. He gives her a list, a whole month, she says fine, goes off and gets twenty cars before being busted by the cops. Her and Mike got out before they could be found, but your old man found them real quick—and shot Mike's head to pieces…"

"Shit." Kai hissed. He knew Mike was Kara's best friend in Miami, although he had never personally met the guy.

"Here's the thing, Zeus. Your old man—he's fucking serious about this. Your Gramps too. He shot Kara—"

"WHAT!"

"Whoa, calm down! You didn't let me finish. He shot Kara, but only in the shoulder. She's all right really, just shaken."

"What was the boost for?"

"Word is that the Inoyezes have challenged Voltaire to a competition. Thirty cars to be stolen by a family member and a few of them raced. You know how things are between the Inoyezes and the Hiwataris, man. This could get real nasty if someone doesn't get those cars."

Kai sighed, auburn eyes focused on the road. "Right. Fine. Keep an eye on her, all right? Don't let anyone hurt her anymore. And call my bastard of a twin and tell him I'll meet him at Heathrow in an hour."

"Gotcha." Brooklyn replied, before hanging up.

Kai sighed, staring at the clear skies, occasionally glancing at the road. He had always known, somewhere deep down, that he would end up back on the streets doing another job. And somehow, it seemed absolutely perfect that it was his little sister's fault.

After all, it's always her fault.

Finally, he picked up his phone again and dialled a number. Pressing the phone to his ear, he allowed a smirk to play on his lips as a voice answered him.

"No, no, NO! Kai, dude, give me one sec— you put the Martini next to the fucking Vodka, that's why there's a space there! What are you, retarded?" Tala Volkov's voice floated through the connection. "Man, sorry about that. Running clubs is harder when there are retards around. What's up?"

"Kara fucked up on a heist." He said simply.

"Fuck! No way! I thought she gave up—man, that's screwed. Is it bad?"

"Really bad, Rogue."

"Uh oh. No way. It's not that bad. I'm not getting dragged into that shit again—"

"Dad's gonna kill her if I don't do something."

There was silence, and Kai knew that he was glaring at something, cursing his own rotten luck and Kara's ability to get herself into life threatening situations.

"Fine, _Zeus._"

Kai grinned in relief. If Tala, his own best friend, wouldn't help, he was pretty much screwed. If Tala didn't help, neither would the others. They had their own lives now, lives that didn't involve law breaking. The younger ones were probably still in University. Why would they want to return to a world where they were constantly shot at and trying to run circles around the police, who were continuously after their asses?

"Meet you at Heathrow in an hour?"

"You got it. Fuck, man, now I need to find someone who isn't dense enough to burn the place down while I'm away. Jesus…"

"Call Ivy!" Kai yelled over Tala's mumblings.

"Whatever!" he replied, and hung up.

---------------

A redheaded girl sat at the back of the class, drumming her fingers against her open notebook in sheer boredom. She already knew what the Professor was talking about, having looked it up in her textbook last week. Hazel eyes stared at the clock just behind the Professor, giving the impression she was listening to his lecture on the Great Fire of London.

She just wanted to get out of class, because her stomach seemed to be complaining to her in an odd way. She didn't feel sick, but she was definitely unsettled.

"Miss Volkov?"

She sat up straight, properly looking at the Professor.

"Yes, sir?"

"Could you explain the factors involved during the fire, please?"

She stood up calmly, undeterred by the scraping of chairs as everyone turned around to look at her. She droned off an answer along with an explanation, satisfying the Professor and impressing the other students, who hadn't even glanced at the textbook before this particular lesson.

"And that, kids, is why Ivy Volkov is the only one getting straight As in this course." The Professor sighed, looking at the class.

Ivy shrugged, entirely uncaring of the praise, and slumped back into her seat. Hazel eyes once again refocused on the clock, happy to register there was only five minutes left of the lesson.

Those five minutes crawled past at a snail's pace, but finally the bell rang. Ivy was amongst the first to escape the classroom, stretching lazily as she walked across the campus to her dorm block.

Suddenly her pocket was vibrating against her leg, and she reached in to grasp her phone. Who was calling her so soon after class? Normally her friends waited another ten or fifteen minutes so that she could get back to her dorm before calling her.

She looked at the ID and was surprised to see her older brother's name.

"Yo, dipshit," She said, "What did I say about calling me before six?"

"Its five thirty!" came Tala's indignant reply, "And don't call me dipshit, asswipe!"

Ivy rolled her eyes, sometimes she honestly wondered who was older mentally, her twenty three year old brother, or herself, who happened to be only two years younger than him.

"What d'you want?"

"Rave's in trouble."

Ivy's hazel eyes widened, instantly recognising the nickname that had been given to the girl who was like a sister to her.

"Kara? How big?"

"Real big. I'm at Heathrow with Chase, Matt and Kai at the moment—getting the Hiwatari's private jet at short notice is such a pain in the ass. This is big, sis. Stay put until we call you, we have to get to Miami and secure Kara's safety first. Then we have a huge boost to pull off. You in?"

"Of course!"

"Sis, I'm serious. You've got Uni going at the moment—"

"Don't be a bastard, Tala. Classes finish tomorrow anyway, and then everyone has two weeks off to study for the finals."

There was sigh, and then a worried tone, "Ivy, I'm serious, this is dangerous…"

"It's Illusion." She snapped, "It's Illusion, remember, Rogue? Rave's like a sister to me; I'm not leaving her in this shit. I'll meet you at Miami Airport in twelve hours."

And with that, she hung up, leaving her big brother to stare worriedly at his phone and wonder how this would turn out.

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Well? Worth continuing or should I just scrap it now? Constructive critism is welcome and flames will be used to toast my waffles.

Pleeeease review! I'm really uncertain about this one, so show your appreciation if you have any!

Toodles!

Chiya


	2. Welcome to Miami

Well, hey everyone. I know it's been about two years since I actually upload this fic, but er, I have no idea what happened. Except that I couldn't be bothered to write it. So this chapter has very very slowly come into existance, and I only just finished it today on a whim. Most likely I won't update reguarly until my exams are over, which is in mid-June.

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Cept Willow, Kara, Ivy. Mirror belongs to Truble. Chase and Matt are RisingPheonix's.

Otherwise, enjoy!

--

**Twilight Friday**

**Chapter Two: Welcome to Miami**

On the fringes of Manhattan, New York, there were several old converted warehouses that had been sitting empty until someone decided to invest in them. When New York College bought several of them to cater for their physics and engineering students, a couple of students asked to turn one of them into a student run car garage. No one could've predicted the impact it would have on the student life.

Every Friday night, fifty odd cars would park along this abandoned street outside the garage, their owners being students at New York College. Most of them were old rust tins that had been spruced up, customized and messed about with. A few were flashy sports cars that stood out in the sea of unique cars. Their owners gathered around the garage's wide open doors, listening to the drum and bass blasting out of the five feet tall amps, shouting over each other and drinking beer. Several girls dressed in colourful overalls would walk through the crowds with clipboards, taking down plate numbers and keys, and the list of things needed done. It was a Friday night affair that never grew old.

It was hitting twilight on this particular Friday, and already the street was starting to get packed out. A large group of girls stood inside the garage, where the music was slightly muffled and speaking was easier; amongst them a stunning black haired girl with an ever present smile sat on the only clean desk in the vicinity, her overalls black with orange paint splatters, and a clipboard in her hand. Beside her, the piles of keys were continuing to get larger.

"Chang—my engine—" one particular blonde girl started, and Mirror Chang shook her head.

"Keys, plate number." She said, and within seconds she had both. She smiled amiably, "What's the problem?"

She wrote down the answer on her clipboard, ripping the paper at the bottom and handing the blonde girl the receipt. "Come back next Tuesday. Should be done by then." She told her, and then turned to another girl who was patiently waiting by her side.

"Wait," the blonde girl said, "Could you get Willow Tate to do it?"

"With her schedule?" Mirror replied, taking a set of keys from the girl beside her, "You should be so lucky. She's overbooked, hun. Very popular, after all."

The blonde nodded in defeat and headed back outside. Mirror continued her job, taking down the lists of jobs to do for the next week. She supposed it was lucky they had twenty engineers working for them; otherwise nothing would ever get done between classes, assignments and partying.

"Miiiii!" called a voice cheerfully from behind her. A shorter green eyed nineteen year old swerved through the few cars parked in the garage, the crowd around Mirror parting instantly at the sound of the girl's voice. She was wearing black overalls as well, but hers splattered with red and silver paint; her hair was tied messily in a high ponytail and she seemed to head straight for the sink near Mirror to wash her hands of grease.

"Hey, Willow. Been working on the Viper again?"

"How could I resist? Such a gorgeous car, McKenna will be lucky to get it back," she said cheerfully, drying her hands. "What have we got so far anyway?"

Both ignored the hush that had befallen the others in the garage with them.

"A lot. Engines, paint jobs, scratched body frames, wreckage or two and…oh, the twins blew their engine up again."

"Great," Willow Tate sighed, shaking her head in disbelief, "Third time this month. They're lucky their parents can afford these bills. Engines aren't half expensive."

"Tell me about it," Mirror agreed, "You heading out?"

"Yeah. Has Tara passed by?"

"Nope, not yet."

"Tell her I have something she'll like," Willow smiled, unzipping her overalls and wriggling out of them, revealing a simple band t-shirt and black jeans combination. "I'll be back in an hour or so…"

A phone rang from somewhere behind them.

"Could you…?" Mirror said, as a boy practically ran in and rushed towards Mirror.

"Uh huh," Willow said, heading back to the office down at the other end of the garage, quickly snatching up the phone. Throwing her overalls onto the nearby swivel chair, she jammed the cordless phone between her shoulder and ear, "New York College Garage, how may I help?"

"Willow Tate?" questioned a highly familiar voice that Willow, for the life of her, could not identify.

"Speaking," she said.

"Willow…its Kai."

Willow Tate dropped the phone.

--

Kara Hiwatari, the only girl in Miami that could steal several cars and then convince the police that they all belonged to her without a single piece of paper to prove it, was in a little bit of a pickle.

But, really, it wasn't that bad. Okay, so, she had stolen twenty odd cars, gotten busted by the police and barely just got away, chased down by her evil father on her eviler Grandfather's commands, her best friend was murdered in cold blood before her very eyes before she herself had been shot in the shoulder.

Someone up there hated her…

Alright, this was the worst situation she had been in since she was kidnapped by the Italian mafia boss five years ago. Now _that_ hadn't been pretty.

"Are you okay?" Brooklyn asked her quietly, putting a hand reassuringly on her uninjured shoulder. Kara nodded slowly, her eyes unblinking, refusing to meet his. She seemed to be staring into space, but Brooklyn knew better.

"Your brothers are coming," Brooklyn announced, squeezing her shoulder before letting go, "Don't worry, Kara. Everything's going to be alright."

Kara flinched.

Kai and Chase had come last time. And she died. That girl…that amazing, clever girl…who never deserved it…who had her whole life in front of her to change the world…she had died. For Kara.

She didn't want her brothers to come.

She didn't want any more deaths on her conscience.

--

Ten thousand feet above the North Atlantic Ocean, the Hiwatari Boeing Business Jet cruised happily at approximately five hundred miles per hour. It only had four passengers at this very moment, and two were the renowned sons and heirs of the Hiwataris.

Kai Hiwatari, tired and worried, sat in a comfortable beige leather armchair, his phone constantly at his ear, murmuring in a low voice to avoid waking up his redheaded best friend currently passed out in the bed in the corner. It was currently one in the morning, local time, and Kai knew his body clock would be completely out of sorts when they landed. Even now, he felt wide awake.

On the other side of the varnished oak cabin, Kai's twin Chase Hiwatari and his best friend Matt Kamiya sat talking to each other quietly, their words inaudible to anyone but them. Chase seemed to be saying something heatedly, hands making large gestures, but Matt only responded coolly. Eventually, Chase calmed down a little, poured himself a glass of expensive champagne, and took a lengthy swig. He was obviously as worried as Kai about his little sister.

Finally, he called over to his twin, who had just got off the phone.

"Have we got her?"

"She screamed at me to leave her alone," Kai sighed. Chase snorted. "but I kept calling until she picked up again, gave me another earful about how she didn't want a reunion, before I finally managed to tell her that Kara was in big trouble…_again. _She's agreed to meet us at JFK."

"JFK? Aren't we going straight to Miami?" Chase questioned.

"No, we're making a fuel stop at JFK. It's enough time to pick her up."

"Is it worth it? Cinders suffered a lot last time," Matt said, picking at the biscuit crumbs on the table before him, "She took off for a reason. She wasn't at all stable. What makes you certain she's okay now?"

"It _has _been five years." Came Tala Volkov's muffled voice from under the covers of his bed. He pushed the covers off his head, blinking sleepily.

"Is five years enough? How much time d'you really need to get over that kind of thing? I mean, are all of you really over it?"

Instantly, everyone's eyes flickered between Tala, who averted his eyes, and Chase, who met their eyes furiously, his hands gripping the leather arms of his chair. "Stop it." He growled, and Kai and Matt looked away.

"Willow can do it," Kai said, clearing his throat, "Closure, right? She needs to see us again if she wants to fully accept what happened. That, y'know, she's de—"

"DON'T!" roared Chase and Tala, who then glared at each other furiously. Kai sighed. Matt rolled his eyes, but even he looked unsettled.

"When are we landing?" Matt asked, ignoring the tension in the room.

"In about three hours…"

--

Ivy Volkov stood in Miami Airport arrivals terminal alone, with just a magazine to keep her occupied. It was a car magazine, and she found herself wanting to see another episode of Top Gear; just to laugh at the three middle-aged men making complete asses of themselves and checking out the new cars in the upcoming market.

But even as she stood there remembering the great things of English television, she almost missed the four men and one woman making their way towards her. It was only Tala's stark red hair that managed to grab her attention, and then the fact it was Willow, _Willow Tate, _walking with them. Last time she had seen the younger girl, she was just a wreck.

"Oh my God. Willow. _Willow!" _she gasped, running towards the black haired nineteen year old. She tackled her in a hug, almost suffocating the mechanic with her warm embrace.

"Ivy—Ivy—AIR!" Willow gasped.

"Where have you been?" Ivy demanded, reluctantly letting the girl go, "All we get is a note—_I'm going to New York. Don't contact me. _D'you know how fucking worried I was? We had to find out from Max what you were doing, if you were okay, how you were handling things—"

"'Oh, hi, brother dearest, long time no see.'" Tala quipped in a terrible imitation of Ivy's voice, looking put out. "What are we, the side show?"

"Yes," Ivy told him flatly.

Tala pouted.

"Look, we're not here for the reunion, we're here to bust Kara's ass," Kai interrupted, looking anxiously at his watch, "So lets go, okay?"

"We're going, we're going…" Willow placated, following Kai to the exit with Ivy easily catching up to her. "How've you been, Ivy?"

"Not too bad…I mean, it was really rough going for a bit after you left. But, eventually, everyone went their separate ways, to make something of themselves. Just like Ho—um, she would've wanted us to." Ivy gulped, glancing sideways at the mechanic. She had almost said her name. Who knew what kind of state Willow was in?

"You can say her name, y'know," The mechanic said calmly, as she lifted her bag into the back of the taxi Kai had just hailed, "It isn't forbidden."

Ivy blinked, surprised.

"And tell your brother and Chase they can stop avoiding talking or looking at me; the only thing I ever had in common with my sister was a love for cars, our height, birthday and surname."

Ivy stared. Willow took her bag off her and hauled it into the trunk as well.

"Illusion, focus. We've gotta save Rave, that's what this is about. Not her. Not Holly."

With that, Willow slammed the trunk shut and slid into a seat beside Matt, leaving Ivy Volkov more stunned than she had ever been in her lifetime. She quickly snapped out of her stupor, getting into the taxi and sitting in between Kai and Chase. Opposite her, Willow was talking quietly with Matt, trading stories on the last five years.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Kai murmured, looking at the dark haired duo as well, "Seeing her again…"

Ivy looked at him and sighed, "She's changed."

"She's just grown up, really. Her own twin sister dying in her arms…it stole any remaining childhood she had left in her. But she's coping, and that's better than I expected." Kai said, before smiling gently at the redhead. Ivy realised how much she had missed her brother's best friend in the year she hadn't seen him; he always had an air of calm about him, and not to mention he was handsome to the boot.

"So…" she said, "Now what?"

"We go to my Grandfather."

"Sounds like fun…!"

--

When it came to Voltaire Hiwatari, Chase was the first to admit that their Grandfather was one of the most horrible men alive. Kai was always quick to follow. It was, perhaps, the only thing the twins had ever agreed on. Besides loving their little sister, that is.

It was because of said little sister that they stood together, not at all quibbling or throwing insults as was per usual, but waiting rather impatiently for their Grandfather to admit them into his study.

"Come in." called an icy voice.

Kai pushed open the heavy oak doors and walked into the large, richly furnitured room with Chase at his heels. Their father, David Hiwatari, regarded his sons with a cool look. Voltaire was sat as his desk, a tell-tale smirk gracing his lips.

"What can I do for you, my dear grandsons?"

The two heirs repressed a shiver at the mock-polite voice.

"Where's Kara?" Chase demanded, forgoing any sense of decorum. Kai rolled his eyes. Chase was always one to plunge in head first without so much as thinking.

"In her room. Where else would she be?" Voltaire answered calmly.

Chase actually made to leave, but Kai grasped his elbow for a brief second, and with a rather annoyed expression, the volatile twin stood in place.

"How do you plan on…" Kai paused, deliberating his words, "…_punishing_ her for the botched job?"

Voltaire smirked, leaning back in his cushioned office chair. "David."

Their father nodded. "Kara will be punished sufficiently for her mistakes. We'll lose a lot of money if those cars aren't on the race track in exactly a week. And besides, we have two heirs to choose from, and Kara has not proved herself worthy of the Hiwatari name. There isn't really any need to keep her around, is there?"

Chase's eyes widened at the subtle implication. "You wouldn't!" he spat. "She's your only daughter for Christ's sakes!"

"Christ has nothing to do with this."

Kai shot down the growl that was starting to rise in his throat. "How much money?"

Maybe he could pay it off. He had saved up a lot over the years…

"Twenty-five million."

…Or not.

"Pounds or dollars?" Kai questioned with a slight incredulous tinge to his voice.

"Pounds."

Damn. The pound was currently at twice the market value of the dollar. It would've been less of a loss had it been in dollars. Hell, they wouldn't even have noticed the loss, had it been in dollars.

"What an extravagant bet to make with the Inoyezes, Grandfather." Kai murmured.

"Fucking hell, we'll do it!" Chase snapped, "We'll do the boost. We'll get the stupid cars there. Just—you don't kill Kara, okay?"

Voltaire grinned, and the twins did their best to repress a flinch. It didn't quite work.

"Very well! Here is a list of the cars. Thirty in total. You have til sundown, next Friday." David handed Kai the list, who read through it quickly. This wasn't good. They were all expensive, or classics, or extremely rare, or…all three. A week? They wouldn't be sleeping much. And they'd need the whole crew. There was no way around it.

"Dismissed." Voltaire waved a hand.

They were out of the room in a shot, tearing through the marble-floored corridors without a worry of perception now that they were out of Voltaire's sight. Chase led the way up several staircases into the east wing of the building, breathing heavily as they approached the oak double doors at the end of the large corridor. Chase crashed through them without a second thought, Kai hot on his heels.

"KARA!"

Their little sister was sitting at her desk in her small living room, and she whirled around in her seat upon hearing her name. Her shoulder was bandaged up and held stiffly, indicating the pain it was causing.

"Fuck!" Chase gasped, dropping to his knees in front of her, burying his face into her lap. Kara stared at him in shock, before lacing a hand through his black hair soothingly. "Shit," he groaned, "I can't believe he shot you. We should've—I should've been here to protect you—"

Kara didn't quite know what to say. Her brother was normally the one comforting her, teasing her, not acting like—_this. _She turned to Kai, who bent and hugged her tightly, careful of her shoulder. He pulled away, kissing her on the top of her head. She blinked. Kai showering affection on her, Chase panicking and hating himself over something he had no control over—yep, she was in complete shit.

"Guys…" she said weakly.

"Yo, Zeus." Brooklyn greeted from the window seat, putting down his newspaper. Now that Kai had greeted his sister and seen that she was mostly alright, he took in his surroundings. Brooklyn's clothes were strewn everywhere, having taken Kai's demand to heart and kept an eye on Kara twenty-four/seven. The place was in a state of disarray.

Kai slapped his hand into Brooklyn's, giving him a half-hug that men tended to share.

"Brooks. Is she…?"

"Went into shock for a while. Then cried for a bit. It's alright now, though. Rave's a tough little girlie."

"Who the fuck are you calling little girlie?!" Kara snapped, causing Chase to come out of his self-pity and laugh uproariously.

"Nice to see you Shade." Brooklyn smirked, which Chase mirrored easily.

"You too Brooks." He said, with slight sarcasm, the sincerity in the statement only visible in his eyes.

"C'mon, you lot. Let's not stay here any longer than we have to. Kara, throw some stuff together. You're gonna stay with us while we're getting those cars."

"You mean…you took on the boost?" Kara said, as both she and Chase got to their feet, Kara as carefully as she could without jarring her aching shoulder.

"Yeah, of course," Chase said, "Not like we'd leave you at the mercies of Voltaire and Daddy Dearest, right?"

"I don't know," she muttered, "At least that way…" she trailed off, eyeing Chase apprehensively. He read her train of thought and stiffened slightly.

"No one is going to die," Kai interrupted smoothly, his auburn eyes determined, "Not this time. I promise, Kara."

An uneasy silence followed, only broken by Brooklyn's awkward cough. "Er," he started, "Who have we got so far?"

Chase's eyes suddenly lit up and slid over to his sister playfully, "We've got Matt, Tala, Ivy and…Willow."

"Cinders?!" Kara shouted, eyes widening, "She's back?"

"Yeah, and she seems pretty good actually…she's studying at New York College, Major in English, Minor in Engineering…she helped start up a college-run garage actually."

"But of course. Willow always was the best teenage mechanic on both sides of the pond. Speaking of mechanics, we should get a hold of Johnny. I mean, might stir things up with Willow, what with them being exes, but we need everyone we can get a hold of really…"

"What about Willow's brother, Max?"

"Obviously. And Enrique, of course."

Kara smiled slightly as she handed a few clothes to Brooklyn, who folded them and put them inside a small pack for her—her shoulder meant she had to do everything one handed for at least another week. But hearing her brothers talk about the old gang, about the upcoming reunion…it made her heart soar.

Back to the rough and tumble of the old days.

Despite the circumstances, she couldn't wait.


End file.
